| "GOOD NIGHT, Mrs. Calabash--wherever
you are!" For years, Jimmy Durante ended his radio and television shows
with that unusual sign-off. Most people thought the mysterious Mrs. Calabash
must have been some fictional character that Durante dreamed up just to
tease his audiences. But longtime residents of Calabash, North Carolina
believe otherwise. The folks in this town will tell you she was a real
person with a real name--and a fascinating story to boot. They claim that
Mrs. Calabash was really a local woman named Lucille "Lucy" Coleman. In
1940, Lucy was 28 years old and running a restaurant in Calabash, then
a tiny seaside community bordering South Carolina. Durante and his touring
entertainment troupe are said to have stopped in for supper one night.
It may have been the genuine homespun friendliness of the young restaurant
owner that prompted the gregarious Jimmy Durante to beckon Lucy over to
his table for some short chitchat. "I'm going to make you famous," |
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